Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, and
Congo (but not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, formerly Zaire, which was also at one time known as the Republic
of the Congo), is a former French colony of west-central Africa. Its
borders are Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic
Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. Upon independence in
1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic
of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was
abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed
in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President
Denis Sassou-Nguesso. The capital is Brazzaville.
History of the Republic of the Congo
First settled by Mbuti, Congo was later settled by Bantu groups that
also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and Democratic Republic
of the Congo, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries
among those states. Several Bantu kingdoms -- notably those of the
Kongo, the Loango, and the Teke -- built trade links leading into
the Congo River basin. The first European contacts came in the late
15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established
with the kingdoms--trading for slaves captured in the interior. The
coastal area was a major source for the transatlantic slave trade,
and when that commerce ended in the early 19th century, the power
of the Bantu kingdoms eroded.
The area came under French sovereignty in the 1880s as part of AEF,
the French Equatorial Africa (modern-day Gabon, Chad, Central African
Republic, and Republic of Congo). Economic underdevelopment during
the first 50 years of colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource
extraction by private companies. In 1924-34, the Congo-Ocean Railway
(CFCO) was built at a considerable human and financial cost, opening
the way for growth of the ocean port of Pointe-Noire and towns along
its route.
During World War II, Brazzaville became the symbolic capital of Free
France during 1940-43. The Brazzaville Conference of 1944 heralded
a period of major reform in French colonial policy, including the
abolition of forced labor, granting of French citizenship to colonial
subjects, decentralization of certain powers, and election of local
advisory assemblies. Congo benefited from the postwar expansion of
colonial administrative and infrastructural spending as a result of
its central geographic location within AEF and the federal capital
at Brazzaville.
Following independence as the Congo Republic on August 15, 1960,
Fulbert Youlou ruled as the country's first president until labor
elements and rival political parties instigated a 3-day uprising that
ousted him. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly
and installed a civilian provisional government headed by Alphonse
Massamba-Débat. Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat
was elected President for a 5-year term but it was ended abruptly
with an August 1968 coup d'état. Capt. Marien Ngouabi, who
had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on December 31,
1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's
first "people's republic" and announced the decision of
the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese
Labor Party (PCT). On March 16, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated.
An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head
an interim government with Col. (later Gen.) Joachim Yhombi-Opango
to serve as President of the Republic.
After decades of turbulent politics bolstered by Marxist-Leninist
rhetoric, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Congo completed
a transition to multi-party democracy with elections in August 1992.
Denis Sassou-Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Prof.
Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992.
However, Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997. As presidential
elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, ensions between the
Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. When on June 5, President Lissouba's
government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville, Sassou
ordered his militia to resist. Thus began a 4-month conflict that
destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville. In early October, Angolan
troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou and, in mid-October, the
Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself
President.
Elections in 2002 saw Sassou win with almost 90% of the vote. His
two main rivals Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing
and the only remaining credible rival, Andre Milongo, advised his
supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race.
A new constitution was agreed in January 2002 which granted the president
new powers and also extended his term to seven years as well as introducing
a new bicameral assembly.
Politics
Denis Sassou-Nguesso (left), President of the Republic of CongoMain
article: Politics of the Republic of the Congo The most important
of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP
[Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president], an alliance consisting of:
Convention for Alternative Democracy
Congolese Labor Party or PCT
Liberal Republican Party
National Union for Democracy and Progress
Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction
Union for the National Renewal
Other important parties include:
Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI
[Michel Mampouya]
Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin Mberi]
Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere
Tchicaya, president]
Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge Ngollo]
Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]
Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian Ebao
Regions of the Republic of the Congo
10 regions (régions, singular région) and 1 commune*;
Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lékoumou,
Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha.
: Geography of the Republic of the Congo
Congo is located in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa,
straddling the Equator. To the south and east it is bounded by the
Congo River and its tributary the Ubangi River, across which is the
larger Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also bounded by Gabon
to the west, Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the north,
and Cabinda (Angola) to the southwest. It has a short Atlantic coast.
Its capital, Brazzaville, is located on the Congo River,in the south
of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa, the capital of the
DR Congo.
The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary
drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists
of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Below
is a map of the Republic of the Congo.
Economy of the Republic of the Congo
The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts,
an industrial sector based largely on petroleum, support services,
and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing.
Petroleum extraction has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the
economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports.
In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government
to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging
5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has
mortgaged a substantial portion of its petroleum earnings, contributing
to a shortage of revenues. The January 12, 1994 devaluation of Franc
Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation
has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support
of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF.
The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted.
When Sassou-Nguesso returned to power at the war ended in October
1997, he publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic
reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international
financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt
by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December
1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration
presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic
problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
A
Abkhazia - Republic of Abkhazia (de
facto independent state inside Georgia)
Afghanistan - Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan
Akrotiri - Akrotiri Sovereign Base
Area (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Åland - Åland Islands
(autonomous province of Finland recognized by international treaty)
Albania - Republic of Albania
Algeria - People's Democratic Republic
of Algeria
American Samoa - Territory
of American Samoa (unincorporated unorganized territory of the United States)
Andorra - Principality of Andorra (co-principality
with the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Spain as ex
officio heads of state)
Angola - Republic of Angola
Anguilla (overseas territory of the
United Kingdom)
Antigua and Barbuda (Commonwealth
Realm)
Argentina - Argentine Republic (federal
state, also named Argentine Nation for purposes of legislation)
Armenia - Republic of Armenia
Aruba (overseas country in the Kingdom
of the Netherlands)
Ascension Island (dependency
of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Australia - Commonwealth of Australia
(federal state, Commonwealth Realm)
Austria - Republic of Austria (federal
state)
Azerbaijan - Republic of Azerbaijan
(see also Nagorno-Karabakh)
B
Bahamas, The - Commonwealth of The Bahamas
(Commonwealth Realm)
Bahrain - Kingdom of Bahrain
Bangladesh - People's Republic of
Bangladesh
Barbados (Commonwealth Realm)
Belarus - Republic of Belarus
Belgium - Kingdom of Belgium (federal
state)
Belize (Commonwealth Realm)
Benin - Republic of Benin
Bermuda (overseas territory of the United
Kingdom)
Bhutan - Kingdom of Bhutan
Bolivia - Republic of Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina (federal
state)
Botswana - Republic of Botswana
Brazil - Federative Republic of Brazil
(federal state)
Brunei - Negara Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria - Republic of Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
See Myanmar for Burma
Burundi - Republic of Burundi
C
Cambodia - Kingdom of Cambodia
Cameroon - Republic of Cameroon
Canada (federal state, Commonwealth Realm,
officially also (but infrequently) referred to as Dominion of Canada)
Cape Verde - Republic of Cape Verde
Cayman Islands (overseas territory
of the United Kingdom)
Central African Republic (sometimes
also rendered as Central Africa)
Chad - Republic of Chad
Chile - Republic of Chile
China (PRC) - People's Republic of China
See Taiwan (ROC) for the Republic of China (see also One-China policy and dispute
over UN representation between PRC and ROC)
Christmas Island - Territory
of Christmas Island (overseas territory of Australia)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (overseas territory of Australia)
Colombia - Republic of Colombia
Comoros - Union of the Comoros (federal
state)
Congo (Brazzaville) - Republic
of the Congo
Congo (Kinshasa) - Democratic
Republic of the Congo (formerly and popularly known as Zaire)
Cook Islands (self-governing state
in free association with New Zealand)
Costa Rica - Republic of Costa
Rica
Côte d'Ivoire - Republic of
Côte d'Ivoire (formerly and popularly known as Ivory Coast)
Croatia - Republic of Croatia
Cuba - Republic of Cuba
Cyprus - Republic of Cyprus (see also
Northern Cyprus)
Czech Republic (sometimes also
rendered as Czechia)
D
Denmark - Kingdom of Denmark
Dhekelia - Dhekelia Sovereign Base
Area (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Djibouti - Republic of Djibouti
Dominica - Commonwealth of Dominica
Dominican Republic (sometimes
also rendered as The Dominican)
E
See Timor -Leste for East Timor
Ecuador - Republic of Ecuador
Egypt - Arab Republic of Egypt
El Salvador - Republic of El
Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Republic
of Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea - State of Eritrea
Estonia - Republic of Estonia
Ethiopia - Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia (federal state)
F
Falkland Islands (overseas
territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by, and a former possession of
Argentina named Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands (self-governing
overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Fiji - Republic of the Fiji Islands
Finland - Republic of Finland
France - French Republic
French Polynesia (overseas
country of France)
G
Gabon - Gabonese Republic
Gambia, The - Republic of The Gambia
Georgia (see also Abkhazia and
South Ossetia)
Germany - Federal Republic of Germany
(federal state)
Ghana - Republic of Ghana
Gibraltar (overseas territory of
the United Kingdom)
Greece - Hellenic Republic
Greenland (self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark)
Grenada (Commonwealth Realm)
Guam - Territory of Guam (unincorporated
organized territory of the United States)
Guatemala - Republic of Guatemala
Guernsey - Bailiwick of Guernsey
(British Crown dependency, including its self-governing dependencies Alderney,
Herm and Sark)
Guinea - Republic of Guinea
Guinea-Bissau - Republic of
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana - Co-operative Republic of Guyana
H
Haiti - Republic of Haiti
Honduras - Republic of Honduras
Hong Kong - Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known
as Hong Kong, China)
Hungary - Republic of Hungary
I
Iceland - Republic of Iceland
India - Republic of India (federal state)
Indonesia - Republic of Indonesia
Iran - Islamic Republic of Iran
Iraq - Republic of Iraq
Ireland (also commonly referred to
as the Republic of Ireland as the official "description" of the state
in order to distinguish it from the island of Ireland as a whole)
Israel - State of Israel
Italy - Italian Republic
See Côte d'Ivoire for Ivory Coast
J
Jamaica (Commonwealth Realm)
Japan
Jersey - Bailiwick of Jersey (British
Crown dependency)
Jordan - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
K
Kazakhstan - Republic of Kazakhstan
Kenya - Republic of Kenya
Kiribati - Republic of Kiribati
Korea (North) - Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (popularly known as North Korea)
Korea (South) - Republic of
Korea (popularly known as South Korea)
Kosovo - Autonomous Province of Kosovo
and Metohia (autonomous province of Serbia and Montenegro under UN interim civilian
administration)
Kuwait - State of Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz Republic (sometimes
also rendered as Kirghizia)
L
Laos - Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia - Republic of Latvia
Lebanon - Republic of Lebanon
Lesotho - Kingdom of Lesotho
Liberia - Republic of Liberia
Libya - Great Socialist People's
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Liechtenstein - Principality
of Liechtenstein
Lithuania - Republic of Lithuania
Luxembourg - Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
M
Macau - Macau Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known as Macau, China)
Macedonia - Republic of Macedonia
(referred to by UN and a number of countries and international organizations
as The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Madagascar - Republic of Madagascar
Malawi - Republic of Malawi
Malaysia (federal state)
Maldives - Republic of Maldives
Mali - Republic of Mali
Malta - Republic of Malta
Mann, Isle of - Isle of Man (British
Crown dependency, also known as Mann)
Marshall Islands - Republic
of the Marshall Islands (US associated state)
Mauritania - Islamic Republic of
Mauritania
Mauritius - Republic of Mauritius
Mayotte (overseas collectivity of
France)
Mexico - United Mexican States (federal
state)
Micronesia - Federated States of
Micronesia (federal state, US associated state)
Moldova - Republic of Moldova (see
also Pridnestrovie)
Monaco - Principality of Monaco
Mongolia (sometimes also rendered
as Outer Mongolia (together with Tuva) in order to distinguish it from Inner
Mongolia of the People's Republic of China)
Montserrat (overseas territory
of the United Kingdom)
Morocco - Kingdom of Morocco (see
also Western Sahara)
Mozambique - Republic of Mozambique
Myanmar - Union of Myanmar (formerly
and popularly known as Burma)
N
Nagorno-Karabakh
- Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto independent state inside Azerbaijan)
Namibia - Republic of Namibia
Nauru - Republic of Nauru
Nepal - Kingdom of Nepal
Netherlands, the - Kingdom of
the Netherlands (legally the Netherlands refers to the mainland European part
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the latter consisting of the Netherlands
and two overseas countries, namely Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles)
Netherlands Antilles
(overseas country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
New Caledonia (sui generis
collectivity of France)
New Zealand (Commonwealth Realm)
Nicaragua - Republic of Nicaragua
Niger - Republic of Niger
Nigeria - Federal Republic of Nigeria
(federal state)
Niue (self-governing state in free association
with New Zealand)
Norfolk Island - Territory
of Norfolk Island (overseas territory of Australia)
Northern Cyprus - Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (de facto independent state inside Cyprus, recognized
only by Turkey)
Northern Mariana Islands
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (unincorporated organized territory
(commonwealth) in political union with the United States)
Norway - Kingdom of Norway
O
Oman - Sultanate of Oman
P
Pakistan - Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Palau - Republic of Palau (US associated
state)
Palestine - State of Palestine (currently
recognized by over 90 countries and further supported by other countries according
the Palestinian National Authority a pivotal role in the process that may involve
their eventually recognizing the State as sovereign)
Panama - Republic of Panama
Papua New Guinea - Independent
State of Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth Realm)
Paraguay - Republic of Paraguay
Peru - Republic of Peru
Philippines, the - Republic of
the Philippines
Pitcairn Islands - Pitcairn,
Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
See Transnistria for Pridnestrovie
Poland - Republic of Poland
Portuguese - Republic
Puerto Rico - Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico (unincorporated organized territory (commonwealth) associated with
the United States)
Q
Qatar - State of Qatar
R
Romania
Russia - Russian Federation (federal
state)
Rwanda - Republic of Rwanda
S
Saint Helena (overseas territory
of the United Kingdom)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (federal state, Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Lucia (Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
(overseas collectivity of France)
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines (Commonwealth Realm)
Samoa - Independent State of Samoa
San Marino - Most Serene Republic
of San Marino
São Tomé
and Príncipe - Democratic Republic of São Tomé and
Príncipe
Saudi Arabia - Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
Senegal - Republic of Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
- State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (federal state, its province of Kosovo
is under UN interim civilian administration)
Seychelles - Republic of Seychelles
Sierra Leone - Republic of Sierra
Leone
Singapore - Republic of Singapore
Slovakia - Slovak Republic
Slovenia - Republic of Slovenia
Solomon Islands (Commonwealth
Realm)
Somalia (the whole country is presently
fragmented with its Transitional National Government in exile, see also Somaliland)
Somaliland - Republic of Somaliland
(de facto independent state inside Somalia)
South Africa - Republic of South
Africa
South Ossetia - Republic of
South Ossetia (de facto independent state inside Georgia)
Spain - Kingdom of Spain
Sri Lanka - Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka
Sudan - Republic of the Sudan
Suriname - Republic of Suriname
Svalbard (overseas territory of Norway
recognized by international treaty)
Swaziland - Kingdom of Swaziland
Sweden - Kingdom of Sweden
Switzerland - Swiss Confederation
(federal state)
Syria - Syrian Arab Republic
T
Taiwan (ROC) - Republic of China (diplomatically
sometimes known as Chinese Taipei (or other names), regarded by UN as "Taiwan,
Province of China", the political status of the ROC and the legal status
of the Taiwan Island (and its outlying islands) are in dispute)
Tajikistan - Republic of Tajikistan
Tanzania - United Republic of Tanzania
(federal state)
Thailand - Kingdom of Thailand
Timor-Leste - Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (popularly known as East Timor)
Togo - Togolese Republic
Tokelau (overseas territory of New
Zealand)
Tonga - Kingdom of Tonga
Transnistria - Transnistrian
or Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (the Transnistrian government uses as translation
Pridnestrovie, de facto independent state inside Moldova)
Trinidad and Tobago -
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Tristan da Cunha (dependency
of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tunisia - Tunisian Republic
Turkey - Republic of Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
(overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tuvalu (Commonwealth Realm)
U
Uganda - Republic of Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
(federal state)
United Kingdom - United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Commonwealth Realm)
United States - United States
of America (federal state)
Uruguay - Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Uzbekistan - Republic of Uzbekistan
V
Vanuatu - Republic of Vanuatu
Vatican City - State of the Vatican
City (administered by a Pontifical Commission appointed by the Pope who is concurrently
the head of the Holy See and that of the Vatican City)
Venezuela - Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela (federal state)
Vietnam - Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British) -
British Virgin Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Virgin Islands
(U.S.) - United States Virgin Islands (unincorporated organized territory of
the United States, popularly known in its abbreviated terms as U.S. Virgin Islands)
W
Wallis and Futuna (overseas
collectivity of France)
Western Sahara - Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic (currently recognized by over 40 countries, the SADR only
exercises effective control over the territory east of Moroccan Wall, whereas
large portion of the territory is occupied by and integrated in Morocco)
Y
Yemen - Republic of Yemen
Z
Zambia - Republic of Zambia
Zimbabwe - Republic of Zimbabwe
|
